Module summary

This module develops student’s knowledge and understanding of the development of the international economy, the evolution of economic ideas since the mid-nineteenth century and an introduction to some major economic issues facing contemporary society.

Prior learning requirements

None

Module aims

This module has been designed to introduce students to the study of international economic history, in particular to an understanding of recent international economic history, and to its relationship to the development of economic theory. At the end of the module students will have:

acquired a knowledge of the pattern of international economic history over the last 140 years and gained a long-term perspective in the study of economic growth and development;

established the basic understanding of the evolution of economic theory and an understanding of major current economic issues;

developed their study skills, analytical and evaluative capabilities, and improved their key transferable skills and knowledge that will be of value in employment and self-employment;

enhanced their ability to carry out independent scholarly research contributing to an analysis and evaluation of important economic and financial problems.

Syllabus

Learning and IT development
Reading and reviewing academic research, presenting arguments in various formats, the concept of critical thinking.
IT skills development: Introduction to IT presentation software. Formats, embedding pictures and other objects, creating animation, editing and formatting, and creating charts from worksheet data. Developing professional communication skills of presentation, audience engagement and participation to a basic professional standard, and demonstrate sound debating skills and the ability to present coherent arguments and influence and persuade others.

International economic growth and development

The spread of Industrialisation and International Economic Development from 1870 to 1914. Britain, Europe, USA and the developing world.
The economic and social Impact of the First World War. Versailles and the post war economic scenario. Keynes criticism of the Versailles reparations. The end of empires and the economic consequences.
International Economic Problems in the 1920s. Problems of economic growth and employment. The challenges of international exchange stability: the gold standard. The Great Wall Street crash, trade and gold. Tariffs and protectionism. Depression and Economic Recovery 1929 -39. German state policy, the New Deal, Japanese economic policy.
The economics of war and the social Impact of World War II. The reconstruction of the warring nations. The development of the ‘welfare state’- the Beveridge Report, and social insurance. State ownership of key industries.
The Long Boom in the World Economy 1948-1973. Bretton- Woods and the dominance of the economy of the USA. The economic resurgence of Japan and Western Europe. The end of colonialism and the birth of the ‘New Economic Order’: Prebisch and Singer.
The End of the Long Boom and the shift to a New International Strategy 1973-1979. The breakdown of the economics of full employment and the dollar-gold standard. The criticisms of the role of the state and social democratic policies.

Post -colonial economies, development economics and inequality: export led and investment led policies. The role of technology and economic growth. The ‘Long Stability’ and ‘Globalisation’ 1980-the present:

The evolution of economic ideas and major contemporary economic issues

Political economy and free market order. How markets were understood in relation to political, moral order. Ricardo, Chalmers, and Mill.
Critics of political economy - moral economy. How critics raised issues around the absence of moral relations in markets and how this related to the understanding of slavery. How the market order was understood Carlyle, Ruskin, Charles Dickens- debate with Mill.
Critics of political economy. Marx, Hobson.
Alfred Marshall. Professionalisation of Economics, poverty and the assessment of policy.
Keynes and need for a macro perspective. Crisis of Keynesianism. Hayek, Friedman, and Lucas.
‘Market fundamentalism’. Fama, Jensen, and Lucas. Efficient market hypothesis. Shareholder value, global liberalisation, economics and global financial crisis.
Problems of market fundamentalism: Stiglitz, Krugman, and Sen.
Big Society theorists. From market fundamentalism to free market order?

The abuse of common property resources. Externalities and environmental quality.
Public goods and their appropriate level of provision. Merit goods and the economic rationale of the welfare state.
Monopoly, competition, and regulation.
Inequality. The distribution and state redistribution of national income.

Learning and teaching

Students’ learning is organised around direct contact time with the teaching team, and reflective independent learning. The direct contact time takes place through lectures, seminars and group workshops. Students must complement this 'formal' learning activity with further reading of the material suggested in the teaching sessions, using economic analysis, research, writing, planning and preparation for class tests, and the final exam.

Student contact time will typically be 3 hours per week. Lectures will normally be around 2 hours duration and will deliver core knowledge. Workshop and other activities may replace the formal lecture from time to time. As this module emphasises the relation between economic history and the application theory as policy, a seminar of around 1 hour will provide examples of how to use economics to understand and analyse the developments covered each week. Formative feedback will be provided in these seminars.

Contact time with teaching teams will be organised around a range of learning activities including active learning to acquire knowledge and understanding, group reading and analysis of journal articles, discussion of policy issues and debate.

Lecture and seminar activities are structured to enable students to develop basic knowledge and then to progress to develop higher order skills of synthesis and critical evaluation. All activities require students to carry out independent work prior to the seminars.

Study and research skills are supported in lectures and seminars, and through independent directed learning and assessment. Skills development is enhanced through learning in seminars, working co-operatively in groups. Inititative and independence is developed progressively through the module so that students take greater responsibility for their work.

Business and economic historical and contemporary student debates are integrating sessions which draw on module material (2 weeks around the end of the autumn term, then 2 weeks around Easter. Groups of 3 or 4 students prepare arguments for or against propositions in a present ,reply, questioning, open discussion format. Presentatations involve 6-8 students per week, 12-18 students in two week periods.

The module makes use of virtual learning environment platforms (WebLearn, Publisher E-resources) in which module lecture material, course handbooks, test questions, previous assessment with feedback, and other material is placed. Students are required to engage with research published in academic journals. ICT resources include links to key web resources such as Government departments, research institutes, historical sites and multi-lateral organisations. Students will be shown to treat all material with caution and research from a variety of sources.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

demonstrate a broad knowledge of the reasons for and characteristics of the development of the international economy and display a systematic understanding of the theoretical explanations for the changes in the international specialisation over the last 140 years;

demonstrate knowledge of economic theory related to aspects of the international economy over this period;

gather evidence, and assimilate, structure, analyse and evaluate evidence, both qualitatively and quantitatively, so critically to understand issues connected with contemporary economic internationalisation;

demonstrate study skills development including academic reading, writing, critical thinking and reference, plan, communicate, self-manage, and effectively present the results of their own work.

develop a presentation to a basic professional standard, and demonstrate sound debating skills and the ability to present coherent arguments and influence and persuade others.

Assessment strategy

The time constrained in-class exercise is an early diagnostic test in English language skill development. As a result of this assessment students will be guided towards additional learning support in the subject. Test information will also be utilised in the skills seminars in EC4001 Principles of Economics to support student learning.

The coursework essay will examine issues, policy and application; ability to apply and to critically assess what students learn directly to their own research in this field; ability to marshal evidence, both qualitative and quantitative, to understand and critically evaluate theoretical and policy issues in the area.

The final exam will test the student’s knowledge and understanding of the key debates concerning economic development in the period covered. The 2 hour examination will be structured so that students are required to answer questions addressing important issues of both economic development from an historical perspective and the relevance of evolving economic theory.

Bibliography

Foreman-Peck, J. A History of the World Economy: International Economic Relations Since 1850, Wheatsheaf, 2nd edition, 1995.
This book is also ONLINE
Kenwood, A.G. and Lougheed, A.L. The Growth of the International Economy 1820-1990, Routledge,
4th edition, 1992.
Landes, D.S. Unbound Prometheus, Cambridge University Press, 2/E, 2003.
Backhouse R E. The Penguin History of Economics. Penguin, 2002.
Heilbroner R. The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times and Ideas of The Great Economic Thinkers, Penguin, 7th Ed.
Krugman P. The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008, December 2008.

Derek H. Aldcroft . The European Economy 1914-2000, 2001
A. Alexander. The Arc of Japan’s Economic Development, 2008.
Levy, David & Peart, Sandra How the Dismal Science Got Its Name: Classical Economics and the Ur-Text of Racial Politics The University of Michigan Press
Paul Mason Meltdown: The End of the Age of Greed Verso
Raghuram G. Rajan Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy Princeton University Press